After a rescue from the bridge, Tina Zahn is helping others by explaining 'Why I Jumped'

[Guest guest]

Another book about the wonders of psychiatric treatment.......

" It was that day that Zahn, recently released from a local hospital

psychiatric ward and heavily medicated, stormed out of her mother's house in

Shawano and drove at high speed toward Green Bay, intent upon jumping off

the highest bridge in the area. "

Then later:

" Zahn's recovery has been gradual but not consistent. She said she suffered

a relapse last spring before a drug, Cymbalta, was prescribed. Until then,

she was given electroconvulsive therapy treatment 22 times at a cost of

$3,000 per treatment, a procedure that often robbed her of her memory

faculties. "

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/news/archive/local_23140943.shtml

Posted Oct. 30, 2005

After a rescue from the bridge, Tina Zahn is helping others by explaining

'Why I Jumped'

By tony walter

twalter@...

Tina Zahn tried to jump off a bridge and out of her life.

But the grip of postpartum depression was stymied by the grip of a timely

police officer. So she became the subject of a nationally viewed video

instead and began a healing journey that has her on the threshold of

becoming a self-help author.

The book's proposed title: " Why I Jumped and Why You Don't Have To. "

Zahn's interrupted leap from the Leo Frigo Memorial Bridge in Green Bay 15

months ago - spectacular if not miraculous - and her decision to provide

testimony to what brought her to near suicide, is a story that also puts a

spotlight on faith and friendship, medical treatment of depression and a

bridge that was built to get people across the river, not into it.

The 37-year-old village of woman sat down recently with her husband,

, to talk about a life that has moved from ordeal into opportunity and

purpose. What was once a period of clouds and apparent hopelessness has

become a crusade to use her experience as a beacon for others.

" I'm still healing but getting better every day, " said Zahn, who remembers

little about July 19, 2004.

It was that day that Zahn, recently released from a local hospital

psychiatric ward and heavily medicated, stormed out of her mother's house in

Shawano and drove at high speed toward Green Bay, intent upon jumping off

the highest bridge in the area.

" I snapped, " she said. " I was feeling rejection and saw the car keys on the

table. So I just grabbed them and ran. "

Her husband, alerted by his mother-in-law, drove to meet Zahn but they

passed on the highway and started a chase that reached speeds of higher than

100 mph and eventually included State Patrol Officer Les Boldt and Brown

County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Bill .

" I remember thinking that I couldn't let Dan catch me, " Zahn said. " I

remember a police car chasing me and thinking that I can't let him catch me,

that I've gotta get to the bridge. "

Zahn stopped at the top of the Leo Frigo Memorial Bridge over the Fox River,

got out of her car, walked to the edge and climbed over the side.

But Boldt arrived seconds later, ran to the edge, grabbed Zahn's right arm

at the moment she let go, and held on for 16 seconds until arrived to

help him pull Zahn back to safety. Zahn remembers none of that.

" The next thing I remember is them putting me down on the cement and talking

about which ER to go to, " she said. " Then I remember sitting in the ER. "

The video camera in Boldt's patrol car captured the scene. It was a video

that became a national story.

" I was amazed at the media attention, " said Zahn. But his wife didn't

watch the video until eight months later.

" I was surprised at how slowly I got out of the car and just walked, " she

said. " But I have no memory of it. I've been up on the bridge since and it

doesn't bother me a bit. "

Zahn's crisis began long before that day. She suffered from postpartum

depression after her first child (, now 7) was born, and fell victim to

it again a few weeks after giving birth to Noah on April 7, 2004.

Candy Shackelford, a close friend, could tell that Zahn was under duress

when she visited her house with another friend in late June last year.

" She shared with us that she thought of taking Noah and jumping off the

bridge, " said Shackelford, who is part of a prayer support group for Zahn.

" That was a huge red flag for us. We decided we couldn't just walk away from

that. "

Zahn was admitted to Bellin Hospital that same day and stayed there for

three weeks. When she continued to struggle after being released, her

husband contacted the family's health insurance provider to get the company'

s financial support to have electroconvulsive therapy administered to his

wife.

But he was still waiting for an answer when Tina Zahn jumped.

Since that day, others have committed suicide by jumping off the same

bridge. The incidents have not gone unnoticed in the Zahn household.

" That really saddens me, " she said. " My heart just goes to the bottom of the

floor. "

Zahn's recovery has been gradual but not consistent. She said she suffered a

relapse last spring before a drug, Cymbalta, was prescribed. Until then, she

was given electroconvulsive therapy treatment 22 times at a cost of $3,000

per treatment, a procedure that often robbed her of her memory faculties.

It was in the spring that a member of her Mothers of Pre-Schoolers group

suggested she write a book. She now has a literary agent and a ghostwriter,

has completed a prologue and is in discussions with three different

publishing companies. Her goal is to have the book finished by the second

anniversary of her bridge rescue.

The book's purpose, Zahn said, is to help other women who are battling

postpartum depression. But it is clear that writing the book is a catharsis

for Zahn, who dictates her story into a tape recorder because constant back

pain prevents her from sitting at a computer for any length of time.

Until now, she has fended off interviews, including repeated offers to

appear on the Oprah Winfrey Show in Chicago. But she hopes the publication

of the book will launch a speaking tour that will bring her story to the

public, and she says, hope to others who suffer from depression.

Zahn's sustenance has been her faith and family.

A Christian, she is part of a women's Bible study at the Green Bay Community

Church.

" I couldn't have made it without my faith, " she said.

Her husband, an engineer, has been in her corner throughout her battle

against depression.

" I can tell she's getting stronger, " said Zahn, as he watched his

wife play with their children on the family's living room floor. " She's

talking more now. "

" He's my rock, " Tina Zahn said.

For , Zahn has become the symbol of a police officer's success story.

" Most of the time in our jobs we don't get to know what happens to people, "

said , who was a guest at a barbecue at the Zahns' home this summer.

" But Tina and I have a little connection and bond because of what happened

and she's become a friend. "

Robin Fischer, a close friend, has no doubt that Zahn will emerge from the

experience a stronger person.

" She's a fighter, " Fischer said. " She knows where her strength comes from

and that there will be a ministry here when the book is published. "

Tina Zahn reads to her son, Noah, 18 months. Last year she was rescued after

jumping off the Leo Frigo Memorial Bridge. Ferron/Press-Gazette

Postpartum depression symptoms

.. Sluggishness

.. Fatigue

.. Exhaustion

.. Feelings of hopelessness or depression

.. Disturbances with appetite and sleep

.. Confusion

.. Uncontrollable crying

.. Lack of interest in the baby

.. Fear of harming the baby or oneself

.. Mood swings - highs and lows

Postpartum depressiontreatment

Women need to be taken seriously when these symptoms occur. Generally a

combination of psychotherapy and medication can reduce symptoms. The ideal

treatment plan includes:

.. Medical evaluation to rule out physiological problems

.. Psychiatric evaluation

.. Psychotherapy

.. Possible medication

.. Support group

It is imperative that women being treated for postpartum depression continue

with treatment even after they feel better, because if they stop the

treatment prematurely, symptoms can recur.

Source: American Psychiatric Association

Electroconvulsive therapy

What is ECT? Electroconvulsive therapy is a procedure in which a brief

application of electric stimulus is used to produce a generalized seizure.

It is not known how or why ECT works or what the electrically stimulated

seizure does to the brain. Today, ECT is administered to an estimated

100,000 people a year, primarily in general hospital psychiatric units and

in psychiatric hospitals.

It is generally used in treating patients with severe depression, acute

mania, and certain schizophrenic syndromes. ECT is also used with some

suicidal patients, who cannot wait for antidepressant medication to take

effect.

How is it administered? ECT treatment is generally administered in the

morning, before breakfast. Prior to the actual treatment, the patient is

given general anesthesia and a muscle relaxant.

Electrodes are then attached to the patient's scalp and an electric current

is applied which causes a brief convulsion.

Minutes later, the patient awakens confused and without memory of events

surrounding the treatment. This treatment is usually repeated three times a

week for approximately one month.

The number of treatments varies from six to 12. It is often recommended that

the patient maintain a regimen of medication, after the ECT treatments, to

reduce the chance of relapse.

Source: National Mental Health Association